OPENING RECEPTION JUNE 6TH

6:00PM - 10:00PM

In May 2002, as my father and I sat in the yard, I conceived an outline for this series of paintings. At the time it was pictured as a set of etchings, like a series of tattoo icons. I imagined the different symbols, logos, and icons as tattoo flash, like many small designs you would see in a tattoo shop. Instead of choosing Popeye or a heart, you get to choose from sheets filled with war machines, corporate logos, and other product labels. As I drew sketches of gas pumps and army helmets, the common household product logo started to dominate the outline, in general, and eventually taking over the sketch completely. The logos that were familiar seemed to relate to the larger war machine-government concept and could convey the ideas to totalitarian and imperial structure. The idea that a simple product label could describe my impression of government is very fulfilling to me, in that I could describe fascism with corporate insignias. Government is, in my opinion, imperialistic and oppressive. The police and military system allows the rich and super rich to make environmental, political, and moral desicions. It creates structures to insulate the rich, and it suppresses movements toward social and economic equality. In our present era the privatization of military contracts and limitless defense spending has developed into a new form of fascism; The United States.

My father died in September of 2002. I hadn't seen him since May, since we discussed my work and our government. I put down the etching plate, cleaned the black off my hands to answer the phone. It was my sister. "Dad's dead". Under that shock I was unable to pick up my work from the same place I put it down. There seemed to be a gap between me and my etchings. 6 years later I painted, in watercolor, a small version of the plate I had put down that night. This painting was very intentional and I hoped it would bring me back to the work I had put down. Within a month, on January 3rd, I painted the 3M logo. My fascination with corporate identity led back to the outline I developed in 2002. After 3M I poured myself into studying, redrawing and painting different logos. They seemed to relate compositionally and relate also to each other directly, like petroleum, plastic, gas, auto, home, food, etc. All very connected. It was during this last 5 months that I got to experience and gain knowledge of these companies their affect on myself, my family, the environment, my society, and culture in general.

-Cheyenne